The present invention relates to an arrangement for fixing the position of a mine wherein the mine has a mine housing which includes a position sensor and a gas generator connected to an inflatable balloon attached to the outside of the housing.
Mines of this type, particularly the so-called intelligent mines, are increasingly brought into a target area by being launched from the ground or from the air. Customarily, various carrier systems, for example rockets, artillery projectiles or the like, are employed for this purpose.
After ejection from the carrier system, the mine generally drops to the ground in a decelerated manner so that the mine will not sink into the ground even if the ground is soft. Once it has landed on the ground, the mine should automatically take on an upright position, independently of the consistency of the terrain, and it should remain in this position during its deployment regardless of the weather.
German Patent No. 3,509,282 discloses a mine of this type which is equipped with an alignment device. If a target detecting sensor finds a target, this mine is oriented toward the target so that it is able to successfully combat the target, with the respective position of the mine being detected and evaluated by sensors. In one embodiment of this mine, balloons are provided to give it the orientation toward the target. These balloons are inflated by a pyrotechnic gas generator. They serve the particular purpose of tilting the mine into its orientation toward the target from a vertical lurking position so that it is able to effectively combat the target.
The drawback of the mine disclosed to German Patent No. 3,509,282 is that, for its alignment device (balloons) to function properly, the condition must be met that, after landing, the mine must come to sit on its underside. Experience has shown that this condition is met only rarely during the laying process. Since, moreover, this mine does not have the ability to permanently fix itself in its position relative to the ground, it is also not possible to ensure that the mine, after landing, is not toppled from its possibly advantageous position due to extraneous circumstances, particularly the influences of weather.